You can easily avoid the rush on Valentine's Day and surprise your beloved with a special surprises throughout this romantic day. It's not only the restaurant dinner, by the way, which can also be done by yourself, but also the whole day full of love and care. You can start it with delicious breakfast in bed for you soulmate, than create some extraordinary appetizers, spend your evening with romantic homemade dinner and finish it with festive dessert.

Marky's gourmet blog has prepared some Valentine's Day ideas and recipes for you and your sweetheart. Enjoy!

To start Valentine's morning with a smile and in a great mood you'll just need to do a simple and nice thing – Valentine's Day breakfast in bed for your beloved. And there is nothing more appropriate than special Eggs Benedict recipe with smoked salmon.

Eggs Benedict with smoked salmon & chives

Ingridients
4 egg
2 tbsp white wine vinegar
2 English muffins, halved
a little butter
8 slices smoked salmon
chopped chives, to serve

Hollandaise sauce
2 tsp lemon juice
2 tsp white wine vinegar
3 egg yolks
125g unsalted butter, diced

Directions

1. First make the Hollandaise sauce. Put the lemon juice and vinegar in a small bowl, add the egg yolks and whisk with a balloon whisk until light and frothy. Place the bowl over a pan of simmering water and whisk until mixture thickens. Gradually add the butter, whisking constantly until thick – if it looks like it might be splitting, then whisk off the heat for a few mins. Season and keep warm.

2. To poach the eggs, bring a large pan of water to the boil and add the vinegar. Lower the heat so that the water is simmering gently. Stir the water so you have a slight whirlpool, then slide in the eggs one by one. Cook each for about 4 mins, then remove with a slotted spoon.

3. Lightly toast and butter the muffins, then put a couple of slices of salmon on each half. Top each with an egg, spoon over some Hollandaise and garnish with chopped chives.

There are also some special Valentine's Day appetizers you can make which will fit a glass of wine of champagne to create a romantic atmosphere. And let's not forget that some products are aphrodisiacs and they are really perfect for this day's menu.

For example, escargots is a great appetizer, which we were writing about recently in our blog “Escargots: You do not like snails? You just do not know how to cook them!”. Another delicios product is lobster. Lobsters can be consumed in a number of ways but most seafood experts believe that they taste best when cooked in their shell. However for the less adventurous there are several easier ways to have lobster since lobster meat is readily available in canned or frozen form in most supermarkets. Lobster dishes can form the main course or its meat added to salads, sauces and soups.

We can also remind you truly refined recipe which we have already published “Salmon Stuffed Eggs Recipe topped with Caviar” or just simple Marky's caviar serving with Creme Fraiche and special Marky's heart-shaped blinis. Appetizer with caviar makes any day special and memorable, especially Valentine's Day.

But another perfect, beautiful and ingenious appetizer we want to share with you is grilled pear and gouda with honey. It is really easy to make and you will definitely impress your partner!

Ingredients
1 Baguette, cut into 12 (1/2 inch thick) slices
1/4 pound Boar's Head Aged Gouda Cheese, sliced thinly
2 slightly firm pears, sliced thinly
2 t. fresh thyme
Honey for drizzling

Directions
1. Heat a grill pan over medium high heat and brush with oil (or spray with cooking spray).
2. Place the sliced pears cut side down in a single layer on the grill pan.
3. Grill the pears for 1-2 minutes per side, then remove from the pan and place them on a plate.
4. Add a little more oil to the grill pan, then place the baguette slices cut side down on the grill pan and grill them for 1-2 minutes per side.
5. Place the grilled bread on a serving platter and top with a slice of Boar's Head Aged Gouda Cheese and a slice of grilled pear.
6. Top the crostini with a drizzle of honey and a sprinkle of fresh thyme.

There are too many different options for your main dish for romantic dinner on Valentine's Day, it's really up to you and your sweetheart taste. We can offer you to prepare Pasta with truffles or Risotto with Peas & Porcini Mushrooms or Chicken in Saffron-Almond Sauce. Everything you both like will be appropriate.

And the last, but most important part of the Valentine's Day dinner is a dessert. The undisputed favorite among the desserts on Valentine's Day is chocolate and the world's best chocolate is Belgian Leonidas Chocolate. The french macarons will also be perfect for the role of festive dessert this Valentine's day.

But the most important this day is to tell and to show your beloved person how much does he or she mean to you by giving joy and warmth of your heart. Happy and sweet Valentine's Day!